Wine for Fun In the past, you may have found yourself standing at a Christmas party, quietly sipping a 30-dollar New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc out of a plastic cup, thinking to yourself, “Strange… this wine isn’t quite as good as I remember it.” Well, perhaps it’s because the last time you tried that wine you were sitting at a dinner table drinking it out of a crystal wineglass, nibbling on a delicious piece of halibut smothered in a citrus butter sauce. Some wines will always taste better with food, but fortunately for the age-old tradition of the Bring-Your-Own-Booze (BYOB) party, not all wines are ‘Food Wines’. The holiday season is here and with it come holiday parties. Seasonal festivities come in many different forms, from Meet-the-Neighbours bashes to office parties to casually hanging out with friends. Since bringing a bottle of 40% alcohol Scotch to a BYOB party might send an inauspicious message to its attendees, many will choose to bring a bottle of wine as their contribution to the event. And herein lies the quandary: We know that red wine goes with red meat and that white wine goes with white fish, but what kind of wine goes best with good old fashioned fun? Many a wine expert has offered advice on how to pair wine with food to the maximum enjoyment of the consumer. Books have been written, seminars have been led and rules exist a-plenty so that we all have an idea as to which wines go best with which foods and vice-versa. But sometimes we aren’t planning to enjoy the wine with any food at all. Sometimes, we really just want a glass of wine. The cardinal rule of wine pairing in every case is personal preference, and pairing wine with good times lends no exception to this rule. You simply need to drink what you like. But there are a few more lines of guidance to consider when choosing a wine to drink solo, as wines taste considerably different when enjoyed with food than they do when tasted by themselves. The main thing to consider is the balance of the wine. If a white wine is quite acidic, like a Sauvignon Blanc or a dry Riesling for instance, it will need some oily or fatty food to counter-balance that acidity, making it a poor contender to drink on its own. Better choices to bring to a BYO bash would be a charmingly refreshing Pinot Gris, many fine examples of which are made in B.C., or a basic Chardonnay in its traditional guise of butter and toast. The ever-popular Chardonnay is the veritable diva of the wine world – beautiful in its simplest form, but often overly made up so as to attract the spotlight. As such, wine reviewers are forever criticizing this grape variety for being excessively oaked and too buttery because these characteristics make it difficult to match with food. But butterscotch and toast are lovely flavours in a fruity white wine and they taste great just the way they are. Simply put, many Chardonnays complete themselves making food an unnecessary companion – perfect for the party forum. Similarly, if a red wine is particularly tannic or astringent then it will need a protein-rich food to tame its astringency – again, a bad choice to drink solo. But if your red wine is smooth and luscious like an American Merlot perhaps or a classic Shiraz, this wine will sip just perfectly when paired with lively conversation and no food at all. Australian Shiraz has long been a popular choice at wine receptions because of its tendency to boast smooth berry-like flavours in a rich, full-bodied wine. The wine is smooth and juicy in your mouth, meaning that no food is necessary to counter-balance any harsh textures. Today, wine producers around the world are emulating this style of wine, so look for examples of tasty Shirazes from South Africa, California, France, Canada and more. It is sometimes said that countries of the Old World such as France, Italy and Spain craft their wines to go with food while New World winemakers of the USA, Australia, Chile and the like make their wines to be consumed on their own. Indeed, this is often the case so it’s worth bearing in mind when making your BYOB wine selection. Of course, there are many exceptions to this rule: Alsace, France being but one example as many Alsatian wines are light and refreshing, making them wonderful party sippers. This holiday season, when you find yourself invited to a party, bring a bottle of wine that you like. Just make sure that it’s balanced to go with fun, not food.
Hugel Gentil $13 – $17 Sandhill Pinot Gris $16 – $18 Viña Chilcaya ‘Reserva Especial’ Chardonnay
$19 – $20 Wolf Blass ‘Eaglehawk’ Shiraz $12 – $14 Columbia Crest Grand Estates Merlot $19 – $21 |
